Kirklees Together

At its meeting next week, Cabinet will consider the impact of the economic crisis on the authority’s budget. Councillors will assess the scale of increases in costs and demands as it continues to support residents through the cost-of-living emergency.

The council’s latest financial monitoring report will reveal increased costs in the current financial year of £34.3m with the budget gap forecast to rise in future years.

Sky-rocketing energy prices have added the highest costs to the council’s budget in recent months with nearly £12m in extra funding needed to heat and light council buildings, schools and leisure centres.

Inflation in goods, services and pay have added a further £10m to budgets as a result of the national economic crisis. Other increased demands on vital council services make up the rest of the shortfall in the council’s current budget.

We’re taking immediate steps to address the financial challenge in the current year including using its reserves, freezing staff recruitment, rationalising the number of buildings it uses and cutting expenses that aren’t critical to frontline services. This is on top of the action taken in the last quarter to review the council’s capital investment programme and manage other costs.

Councillors now say that the government’s Autumn Statement, delayed until 17 November, alongside the local government settlement expected in December, will be critical to determining the financial future for councils and services across the country. The Autumn Statement will give an indication of available spending for all public services over the coming years with the financial settlement setting out funding for each council in the country.

Leader of Kirklees Council, Councillor Shabir Pandor, said:

“The cost-of-living crisis and the wider economic emergency have hit Kirklees residents hard. We are now seeing the impact on budgets for council services.  It means we are facing significant pressures on our budgets.

“We’re taking immediate action to reduce our costs and bring the deficit down but it’s the government announcements on public spending, expected over the next few weeks, which will be even more crucial. They will set the scene for the decisions we need to take on future budgets.

“In my national role with the Local Government Association, I talk to council leaders across the country and it’s abundantly clear how serious the situation is for virtually every local authority. Councils across the whole country are facing unprecedented pressure on budgets now and even more severe challenges in the years ahead.”

Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Councillor Paul Davies, added:

“This is a council that’s been prudent with the public’s money over many years and we are in a better position than many local authorities, some of whom have signalled that they are headed for a financial cliff edge.

“But we need to put the council’s finances on a sustainable footing and we’re taking action to do that. Frontline services for residents are our absolute priority and we are focusing our response on protecting them. That means using the council’s reserves to offset some of our increased costs as well as reducing staff recruitment and looking to rationalise the number of buildings we use for back-office services.

“It’s clear that the economic crisis is going to affect the country beyond the course of the current financial year. That’s why the government’s Autumn Statement on public service funding and its decisions on funding for councils are so important. They will set the backdrop to the decisions we need to take for the next few years. More than ever, Kirklees needs a fair deal from government that acknowledges the demands on services and the costs we face. Residents deserve nothing less.

“This is a fast-moving situation and I will continue to update residents and councillors on our financial position regularly. At the same time, we remain focused on supporting residents who face their own cost-of-living crisis. This includes supporting local food banks, distributing the Household Support Fund to families who need it most and working with our voluntary and community sector partners who do such brilliant work across Kirklees.”